Household goods and clothing retailer, The White Company, is now using eDigitalResearch’s market-leading insight capabilities to assist in making key business decisions.

The first project, completed in the first quarter of this year, was an email survey to gauge customer reaction to the company’s new style catalogue.

The White Company sells largely from its website and 32 stores, but also via a catalogue which is mailed to some 400,000 customers on two separate occasions during the season.

Some use the catalogue to browse, then order online – others phone their orders into the company’s contact centre. Having used the same catalogue format for three years, it was decided to introduce a new format with a more contemporary look and feel, fresher looking photography and larger page size.

Head of Brand Communications Joe Pack needed to find out what customers thought of the new format and contacted eDigitalResearch, whom he had used extensively whilst at another retailer.

In order to provide a comparison, the new format was mailed out to a proportion of customers at the beginning of the season, with the balance receiving the existing version. Half way through the season the catalogues were switched, with recipients receiving the alternative version.

eDigitalResearch designed and managed a survey which was emailed to 55,000 customers a week after each mailout.

The survey featured an image of both catalogues to aid recall, and posed questions about comparative usability, attractiveness and motivation to buy, including specifics about the larger page size, legibility and new photographic style.

The response – the majority of which was received within two days – provided a good cross-sectional sample to render the insight accurate.

Most customers welcomed the new catalogue format, said they were more likely to pick it up and browse it, and found it easier to shop from.

This provided the company with the confidence to implement the new format for the Autumn edition.

Joe Pack is very satisfied with the success of the research project.“The company had never formally sought customer opinion before this. It’s been a great way of gaining actionable insight as well as positively engaging with our customers on a different level.” He adds “We’ll be engaging with eDigitalResearch on a regular basis to help guide us on key business decisions. Their flexibility and ability to make last minute changes suits the way we work.”

eDigitalResearch Research Director Derek Eccleston commented: “We’re delighted that Joe saw fit to come back to us when he joined The White Company. This is a great example of how a relatively simple email survey can give companies the confidence to make crucial decisions.”